Sea War
INDIAN OCEAN: JAPANESE CARRIER STRIKE ON COLOMBO, CEYLON. 91 bombers and dive-bombers cripple AMC Hector and destroyer Tenedos in harbour, while 36 A6M2 Zero fighters (7 lost) defeat 42 Hawker Hurricane and Fulmar fighters (19 lost). Later, 53 Aichi dive-bombers overwhelm cruisers Cornwall and Dorsetshire, off Colombo.
Mediterranean: Destroyer Havock runs aground on Tunisian coast (later torpedoed by Italian submarine).
Eastern Front
Hitler issues ‘Fuehrer Directive’ No. 41: ‘German and Axis forces are to capture oilfields of Caucasus and Leningrad, by series of complex, consecutive operations – priority being given to former objective. German forces west of Moscow to remain on the defensive.’
